Influences of the pandemic context and ultra-neoliberalism on Temporary Benefits

Abstract

This article highlights the social, political, and economic context experienced by Brazil marked by the intensification of poverty, the defunding of social policies, and the worsening of violence and unemployment under the ultraneoliberal administration of President Bolsonaro, further exacerbated by the public health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and by the challenges involved in confronting the expressions of the social question, particularly through Social Assistance Policy. In light of such considerations, this study aims at analyzing the regulation and granting of Eventual Benefits in the municipalities that make up the Immediate Geographic Region of Cuité–Nova Floresta (PB) between 2018 and 2022. The critical-dialectical method was adopted, as it enabled significant reflections on the object of study from the perspective of totality, contradiction, and historicity. Methodologically, the research comprised bibliographic and documentary investigation. The documentary research included the Monthly Service Reports of the Social Assistance Reference Centers (CRAS), the Annual Budget Laws (Leis Orçamentárias Anuais – LOA), and the Statements of Expenditure (Quadros Demonstrativos de Despesas – QDD), available on the transparency portals of the municipalities covered by the study. The findings indicate an increase in the number of services provided by the Social Assistance Reference Centers (CRAS), particularly those related to the demand for Eventual Benefits in the region, reflecting the intensification of the expressions of the social question.